oklahoma librarian

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Oklahoma

LIBRARIANLIBRARIAN Volume 56, No. 6 November/December 2006

Lawton Public Library Presents OUT TO PASTURE

LAWTON, Okla. — The Lawton Public Library is proud to sponsor Out to Pasture, a play based on a novel written by Effie Leland Wilder. This event will take place on Saturday, December 16, at 7:00 in the evening at McMahon Auditorium.

With the support of the McMahon Auditorium Authority, we know this play is going to be a huge success. The play will be directed by Cameron University professor Dr. David Fennema. He will be joined by Mr. Scott Hofmann, an experienced technical director, and Mr. Justin Miles of Tulsa, Oklahoma, an aspiring young man who wrote the script.

Out to Pasture was written by Effie Leland Wilder, who was 85 years old at the time and is now 97 years old. Mrs. Wilder is very excited that the library has chosen her book (with permission from Peach Tree Publishers) to inspire the senior adults to participate in the play.

This play is in conjunction with the monthly “Golden Girls and Guys Day Out” program which serves the residents of nursing/retirement homes, shut-ins, adults with disabilities, and the veteran’s center. Our primary goal is to give the seniors a chance to learn, enjoy, and develop new opportunities to do more outside their homes. The library anticipates the seniors will play some of the characters in the book. Funding is made possible by a grant from the Oklahoma Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Tickets are $5.00 per person, general admission, and may be purchased at the following locations: • Main Library- 110 SW 4th Street • Branch Library- 1304 NW Kingsbury • McMahon Auditorium- 801 NW Ferris • ITR Office- Fort Sill

The McMahon Auditorium Authority will host a reception at 6:00 p.m. and doors will open at 5:45 p.m. For more information, call the Circulation Desk at 580-581-3450 ext. 3.

—Dory Thomas

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� Centennial Central � President’s Column

The Program Committee and Local Arrangements Committee are hard at work on the 100th Anniversary conference! The DROCS have already held some highly successful workshops and several more are scheduled between now and the annual conference. The Legislative Committee has established this year’s goals and are preparing for their upcoming workshop and legislative day, which will be April 24th. Mark your calendars. We expect a number of legislative challenges and we will be working with a new landscape of legislators. One of our major goals this year is to promote the requested budget for Oklahoma Department of Libraries. The budget will help maintain database access and support for public libraries with currently very limited per capita funding.

One upcoming workshop “Booktalking: From So-So to Sensational!” looks like a don’t miss. It will be held in Midwest City on February 22nd, so it should be an easy drive for lots of librarians. The presenter is Chapple Langmack, the author of Booktalker’s Bible, and her co-presenter is Melanie Workhoven, author of Naked at the Podium.

I recently received a letter from Keith Michael Fiels, Executive Director of ALA, discussing the plight of many libraries still suffering the effects of Hurricane Katrina. In it he urges all the State Chapters to contact and work with the ALA Chapter Relations Office to aid Gulf Coast libraries. I am forming an ad hoc committee to look into strategies for providing assistance to these libraries.

The Centennial Committee is working on plans to honor library legends at the conference banquet. We are issuing special invitations to retired librarians. If you know retired librarians who might enjoy seeing old friends, please send their name and address to Kay Boies and we will make sure they are invited. We want everyone who contributed to Oklahoma Librarianship in the last century to share their memories. There is a special oral histories project that will be taking place at the conference. We hope that many of the retirees will share their OLA history and help us build a collection of experiences that can be added to the archives before we lose our chance to capture those stories.

The Marketing Committee has done a wonderful job of creating memorabilia in honor of our 100th anniversary. If you haven’t yet seen the 100th anniversary pins, you may be surprised. They are scrumptious. We have a standard lapel pin and a pin ringed with colored stones that is quite fetching. I’ve got one and have received several compliments on the pin from non-OLA acquaintances. The Committee has made a special effort to keep costs at a minimum so that everyone can afford a keepsake in memory of our 100th! We won’t have another anniversary like this for a long time. We also have a frontier-style coffee cup with the 100th anniversary logo and a pad-portfolio with an embossed logo. Any of these would make a great gift at the holiday season.

The Endowment Committee is planning the final fundraising effort for the Centennial campaign. Get ready for a raffle of exciting prizes and an opportunity to thank your favorite mentor in the process.

Mark your calendar and look for the conference preview in early 2007! There will be programs for everyone. Programs include: Tribal Libraries, Imaging, The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and

Culture, Connecting Boys with Books, vendor product presentations, Planning for Retirement and Charitable Giving, Common Threads of All Cultures, Teens & Millennials, and more! Leadership in Times of Crisis, Cooperative Learning, Grant Writing, Sequoyah Authors, and tours of downtown OKC sites like the Oklahoma History Center make the Monday of pre-conferences worth the trip! Get ready to make some memories of the most memorable OLA conference—ever! We’ve got a lot to celebrate and a lot of people who have gone before to thank for their contributions to Oklahoma Librarianship. Take a look at some of the important contributions made by our predecessors in OLA in the last century on the next few pages. Debra Engel has created a fascinating timeline. Pat Weaver-Meyers

The OKLAHOMA LIBRARIAN is the official bul-letin of the Oklahoma Library Association. It is published bi-monthly. The inclusion of an article or advertisement does not constitute official endorsement by the Association. It is mailed to each member of the association upon payment of annual dues. Editorial Office Janet Brennan Croft, University of Oklahoma Libraries, Bizzell 104NW, Norman OK 73019-2121; [email protected]. Circulation and Advertising Office The Oklahoma Librarian, 300 Hardy Drive, Edmond, OK 73013. Bulk mail postage paid at Edmond, OK 73034. Publisher’s permit No. 61. Circulation 1200. Circulation Manager: Kay Boies (405) 525-5100, fax: (405) 525-5103, e-mail: [email protected]

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President � Oklahoma Library Association 1907-2007

THE FIRST DECADE (1900-1909) During the first decade of the 20th century:

• Queen Victoria died

• Theodore Roosevelt became the youngest-ever president of the United States

• The Wright Brothers flew the first airplane at Kitty Hawk

• Peary reached the North Pole (maybe)

• The first Ziegfield Follies were presented

• The electrocardiogram was invented Best sellers included:

• The Virginian by Owen Wister

• The Hound of the Baskervilles by A. Conan Doyle

• The Jungle by Upton Sinclair

• The Crisis by Winston Churchill (the novelist, not the British prime minister)

• Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm by Kate Wiggins

In libraries during 1900-1909:

• The book wagon made its presumed first appearance in Washington County, Maryland in 1905.

• Andrew Carnegie gave away millions of dollars to build libraries across the country.

• The Chicago Public Library had satellite stations in fire stations and fire boats.

• Leavenworth became the first city in Kansas to receive a grant from Andrew Carnegie for a public library.

• 1907- First organizational meeting of the OLA was held in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Territory five months before statehood.

• Initial membership fees to OLA were set at fifty cents.

• OLA created a traveling library training class in collaboration with the Federated Women’s Clubs to train librarians in 1908.

THE SECOND DECADE (1910-1919) During the second decade of the 20th century:

• The Titanic sank

• Pancho Villa attacked Columbus, NM

• World War I was fought

• The Bolshevik Revolution occurred

• The Spanish Influenza epidemic killed millions of people around the world

• Jeannette Rankin of Montana becomes the first woman elected to Congress

• The Panama Canal was completed

• New Mexico and Arizona joined the union

Best sellers included:

• The Harvester by Gene Stratton Porter

• The U.P. Trail by Zane Grey

• The Montessori Method by Maria Montessori

• Penrod by Booth Tarkington

In libraries during the 1910s:

• OLA began emphasizing the importance of preserving Native American materials within the State.

• Women in libraries in 1918 earned $900 per year.

• ALA campaigned to get reading material for camp libraries for American troops in World War I. In 1917, OLA organized the distribution of magazines and nobles to the troops and encouraged the preservation of local war records.

• Publisher’s Weekly added nonfiction best selling records.

• 1919-OLA succeeded in lobbying the State Legislature to form the Oklahoma Library Commission, which would work to improve library services in Oklahoma.

THE THIRD DECADE (1920-1929) During the third decade of the 20th century:

• Lindbergh made the first nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean

• The stock market soared then crashed

• King Tut’s tomb was discovered

• Clarence Birdseye marketed quick-frozen food

• Prohibition went into effect, the social scene included flappers and speakeasies

• The Leopold and Loeb trial was dubbed “the trial of the century”


• All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque

• The Outline of History by H. W. Wells

• Main Street by Sinclair Lewis

• So Big by Edna Ferber

• The Re-Creation of Brian Kent by Harold Bell Wright.


• Not allowed to check out books because he was black, future author Richard Wright tricked the library into giving him books.

• Book carts appeared in hospitals.

• Only 17% of the towns in Oklahoma had library service (1929). OLA lobbied the legislature to establish funding for city and county libraries.

• The Association cooperated with the U.S. Bureau of Naturalization by providing books on American customs and institutions for foreign born who could read only simple English.

• OLA worked to improve standards for high school libraries in Oklahoma (1929).

THE FOURTH DECADE (1930-1939) During the fourth decade of the 20th century:

• The Depression was in full force

• Roosevelt instituted New Deal programs

• Social Security was begun

• The Wizard of Oz and Gone With the Wind were filmed

• Hitler came to power in Germany

• World War II began

• The Lindbergh kidnapping/murder trial was dubbed “the trial of the century”


• The Good Earth by Pearl Buck

• Magnificent Obsession by Lloyd C. Douglas

• Miss Bishop by Bess Streeter Alrich

• Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

• How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

• The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings


• The Library Bill of Rights was adopted in 1939.

• The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built libraries and OLA was involved in providing needy persons useful jobs through the WPA.

• Navy Blues, a 1937 movie, made the drab librarian turned beauty into a cliché.

• 1935- OLA authorized the erection of a granite marker at Union Mission, the site of the first printing press in Oklahoma, to commemorate the one hundredth anniversary of printing in the state.

• OLA began a long term effort to develop an interest in reading among Oklahoma citizens (1936).

� Oklahoma Library Association 1907-2007

THE FIFTH DECADE (1940-1949) During the fifth decade of the 20th century:

• Pearl Harbor was attacked

• The Allies defeated Germany, Italy, and Japan in World War II

• The atom bomb was produced

• The Iron Curtain descended across Europe

• India gained its independence

• Israel was created

• Casablanca was filmed

• Bing Crosby recorded “White Christmas”

• Edwin Land invented the Polaroid camera

• The Nuremberg trials were dubbed “the trials of the century”


• I Married Adventure by Osa Johnson

• How Green was My Valley by Richard Llewellyn

• Berlin Diary by William Shirer

• For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway

• The Robe by Lloyd C. Douglas

• Forever Amber by Kathleen Winsor


• 1400 librarians attending the ALA convention in San Francisco protested the appointment of Archibald McLeish, not a professional librarian, as Librarian of Congress.

• The average cost of hardcover fiction was $2.58 (1941).

• Because of World War II and gas rationing, no annual OLA conference was held in 1942, 1945, or 1946.

• OLA held an institute on war and post-war problems in Oklahoma that addressed the economic, social and political issues of the day.

THE SIXTH DECADE (1950-1959) During the sixth decade of the 20th century:

• The Korean War was fought

• The nation liked Ike

• The McCarthy hearings were televised

• The Brown vs. Board of Education decision outlawed school segregation

• Sputnik was launched

• TV became all the rage

• The Rosenberg trial was dubbed “the trial of the century”


• Kon-Tiki by Thor Heyerdahl

• From Here to Eternity by James Jones

• East of Eden by John Steinbeck

• Peyton Place by Grace Metalious

• Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak


• A growing trend toward book banning brought the Freedom to Read statement in 1953.

• The average cost of hardcover fiction was $3.50 in 1954.

• The federal library program began with the Library Services Act of 1956.

• “Wake Up and Read” was the National Library Week theme in both 1958 and 1959.

• 1950- OLA first Distinguished Service Awards were given for outstanding service to the Oklahoma Library Association.

• 1950- OLA Executive Board created the Committee on Intellectual Freedom to examine the subject of censorship in the Bartlesville Public Library.

• 1955- The Multi-County Library Law, allowing several counties to combine to form one library, including branches and bookmobiles, passed the state legislature.

• OLA received recognition by the House of Representatives citing its pioneering efforts to advance knowledge in Oklahoma (1957).

• 1958- Sequoyah Children’s Book Award was established to encourage children of Oklahoma to read more widely and selectively.

• OLA awarded its first annual scholarship for students pursuing a library degree.

THE SEVENTH DECADE (1960-1969) During the seventh decade of the 20th century:

• The Berlin Wall was constructed

• JFK, RFK, and Martin Luther King, Jr. were assassinated

• The U.S. entered the Vietnam War

• ARPANET (which eventually evolved into the Internet) was created

• Apollo 11 landed on the moon

• The Civil Rights movement made great strides

• The first heart transplant was performed


• The Agony and the Ecstasy by Irving Stone

• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

• Happiness Is a Warm Puppy by Charles Schulz

• Valley of the Dolls by Jaqueline Susann

• The Godfather by Mario Puzo


• OCLC came into existence.

• LSA was expanded into the Library Services and Construction Act (LSCA).

• 1964 -Oklahoma’s first Governor’s Conference on Libraries was sponsored by OLA and the Oklahoma Department of Libraries to better acquaint the citizens of Oklahoma with library needs.

• OLA developed a workshop for trustees in response to recommendations made by the Governor’s Council on libraries.

• OLA sponsored a creative writing project for third graders.

THE EIGHTH DECADE (1970-1979) During the eighth decade of the 20th century:

• Richard Nixon resigned in disgrace as a result of the Watergate scandal

• The communist North triumphed in Vietnam

• The U.S. celebrated its Bicentennial

• Egyptian president Sadat electrified the world by visiting Israel and later signing a peace accord

• The first human test tube baby was born

• President Ford survived two assassination attempts

• Muhammed Ali made a comeback

• Supporters of Ayatollah Khomeini held Americans hostage in Iran

• The Manson trial was dubbed “the trial of the century”

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� Oklahoma Library Association 1907-2007


• Love Story by Erich Segal

• Everything You Wanted to Know About Sex But Were Afraid To Ask by David Reuben

• Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach

• All the President’s Men by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward

• The Stand by Stephen King


• The FBI attempted to hunt subversives through library check-out records.

• Institutional libraries were added to LSCA..

• ISBNs came into being.

• ALA celebrated its 100th anniversary in 1976.

• 1972–OLA established a task force on elementary school libraries.

• 1974- Frances Kennedy was hired as OLA’s first Executive Secretary.

• 1976- The name of the School Librarian’s Division was changed to the Oklahoma Association of School Library Media Specialists.

THE NINTH DECADE (1980-1989) During the 1980s:

• The AIDS epidemic emerged

• Reagan won two landslide elections

• Mikhail Gorbachev came to power in the Soviet Union

• The Berlin Wall came down and Communism collapsed throughout eastern Europe

• Sandra Day O’Connor became the first woman on the U.S. Supreme Court

• The space shuttle Challenger exploded

• Madonna was popular


• Iacocca by Lee Iacocca

• North and South by John Jakes

• Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean Auel

• Family Album by Danielle Steel

• The Cardinal of the Kremlin by Tom Clancy

• Misery by Stephen King.


• Ten ALA-accredited library schools closed.

• “Information Power” was published.

• The national library symbol was created.

• Microcomputers and automated circulation systems came into widespread use in libraries.

• 1985—HB 1248, concerning the confidentiality of library records, was signed into state law on May 23,1985 by the Governor.

• 1985—The “Let’s talk about It” program was begun.

• 1986—The OLA Legislative Liaison Fund, established for donations “to engage a professional lobbyist on a part-time basis” eventually raised $2,000 for that purpose.

• 1989—OLA awarded its first Outstanding New Librarian award to Mary Marcum Evans.

• 1989—The Education Reform Bill, requiring school library media centers in Oklahoma schools by 1999, was passed.

• 1989—Association members at the OLA Annual Conference passed a resolution affirming First Amendment rights.

Permission to use decade and best sellers information provided by Roger Carswell, Director, Southeast Kansas Library System (Iola, KS). Based on the website: Kansas Library Association Centennial Moments http://skyways.lib.ks.us/KLA/misc/century/index

THE TENTH DECADE (1990-1999) During the 1990s:

• The Gulf War was fought

• Apartheid ended and majority rule began in South Africa

• Johnny Carson retired from The Tonight Show

• The Americans With Disabilities Act became law

• The economy boomed

• Panama Canal returned to Panama

• Book retail chains abound

• The O.J. Simpson trial was dubbed “the trial of the century”


• The Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller

• The Client by John Grisham

• Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt

• Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt

• Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom

• Body of Evidence by Patricia Cromwell

• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling


• The Internet became commonly available in libraries.

• “Libraries Change Lives” was an ongoing National Library Week theme.

• The Second White House Conference on Libraries and Information Services was held.

• The Library Services and Technology Act replaced the Library Services and Construction Act.

• Federal library programs were moved from the Department of Education to the Institute for Museum and Library Services.

• OLA Board adopted the resolution in support of Oklahoma Libraries (1999).

THE ELEVENTH DECADE (2000-2009) During the 2000s

• Hijacked jets crashed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, 9/11/2001

• Animals were cloned

• Oceans are warming and rising

• U.S.-led forces invade Iraq

Best sellers included

• The Brethren by John Grisham

• Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson

• The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

• South Beach Diet by Arthur Agatston

• Beach Road by James Patterson and Peter de Jonge

• Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick

In libraries during the 2000s

• OLA Executive Board reaffirmed the resolution in support of Oklahoma Libraries (2006).

• OLA began the “Great Oklahoma Library Association Literacy Initiative.”

• Centennial Endowment Campaign was begun to establish an ongoing income for the Association independent of membership dues.

• OLA Leadership Institute was begun. Resources: Sarah Davis Haney, “The Origin and Development of the Oklahoma Library Association, l907-1994,” Ph.D. dissertation, Texas Women’s University, December l996. Oklahoma Library Association website: http://www.oklibs.org

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Tenth Anniversary of the SRRT Tenth Anniversary of the SRRT Tenth Anniversary of the SRRT Tenth Anniversary of the SRRT Ruth Brown Award This SpringRuth Brown Award This SpringRuth Brown Award This SpringRuth Brown Award This Spring

This April, the Oklahoma Library Association's Social Responsibility Roundtable (SRRT) awards the 10th annual Ruth Brown Memorial Award. SRRT awards the $500.00 honor to social issue oriented programs provided by or in conjunction with a library. The past recipients have seen great benefits because of the award. Sara Scheiman from Yukon Public Library was able to purchase several magazine subscriptions for the 2005 winner, "Books Behind Bars." Incarcerated juveniles in the program read at least three hours per day. Schieman reports that National Geographic, Popular Science, and Sports Illustrated for Kids have been great reading for the kids. This year, each student in the St. Luke's Episcopal Church reading program gets to choose two books to keep. St. Luke's, last year's winner, provides reading mentors for disadvantaged students at a Bartlesville

school. Over eighty-five percent of the program's students passed the Oklahoma State standardized test last year. St. Luke's hopes that having the chance to own books will help the students continue their reading success. This award commemorates Ruth Brown, a Bartlesville librarian who fought to integrate public libraries. The Bartlesville Public Library and the Bartlesville Women’s Network will be honoring Ruth Brown with a weeklong celebration in 2007. SRRT is now searching for the tenth Ruth Brown honoree and is currently accepting applications for the 2007 award. Any Oklahoma program initiated by or with a library that addresses a social issue or an underserved population is eligible for the award. Applications are available by emailing SRRT chairperson, Stacy DeLano, at [email protected].

—— Stacy DeLano

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2007 WORKSHOPS FROM THE U.S. GOVERNMENT INFORMATION DIVISION,

OKLAHOMA DEPARTMENT OF LIBRARIES

Steve Beleu, Regional Depository Librarian of the U.S. Government Information Division of the Oklahoma Department of

Libraries, will come to your library and present these workshops to your library staff and/or customers from your community or

college/university.

� MAJOR WORKSHOPS ― each is 3 hours long

NEW FOR 2007 – INTRODUCTION TO THE INFORMATION RESOURCES OF THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION (CDC)

This workshop will teach you about the many online tools and resources available from the Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention’s homepage. There is something from the CDC homepage for every type of library—public,

academic, and special. Some of what we’ll cover includes the following—

• online publications from the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities

• online publications from the “Adverse Childhood Experiences Study,” a study that investigates the links between maltreatment during childhood and health and wellness in later life

• online publications from the National Resources Center on AD/HD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder)

• data from the National Program of Cancer Registries

• data on alcohol-related diseases, deaths, and probable “years of life lost” due to alcohol-related diseases

• information about emergency preparedness for professionals and others

• information from the CDC’s Food Safety Office, including recalls, alerts, and warnings

• maps and detailed lists of hazardous waste sites by state

• data about local drinking water quality by Oklahoma county

• information that you can use to construct a family chart of genetically inheritable diseases

• state maps that show types of fatal and non-fatal injuries by county

• the online “Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System,” a major CDC survey

• online publications from the Healthy Aging Research Network

• the well-known online tool “Body Mass Index”

• health information about visiting other nations for travelers

• what’s in this year’s flu vaccine serum

• information about CDC podcasts and e-mail news services

Recommended audience: all libraries

CENSUS OF POPULATION AND HOUSING, AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY, AND ECONOMIC CENSUS FOR OKLAHOMANS

This workshop will teach you how to access data from the 2000 Census of Population and Housing that is available

from the Census Bureau's American Factfinder, and more recent and current data from their American Community

Survey webpage and other Census web pages. You will also learn about the features of the Census Bureau's

homepage, the Census of Agriculture that the U.S. Department of Agriculture conducts, and some non-federal

websites that feature special products made from Census data. We will focus on data and maps that feature

Oklahoma. Examples of what you will know how to do after taking this workshop:

• get data for the area around your home or business street address

• get economic data for your zip code or county or metropolitan area

• get social characteristics data for Oklahoma Indian tribes

• locate current data for the leading economic indicators

• profile major industries of each Oklahoma county

• find educational attainment data by age, race, and sex


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AMERICAN MEMORY FOR OKLAHOMANS (AM) This workshop will teach you how to access the archival collections that the Library of Congress provides through

their American Memory website. Most of the collections available from this website come from the Library of

Congress itself, but some are from major libraries in our nation. Included in these collections are books,

manuscripts, sheet music, maps, early motion pictures, photos, and sound recordings. We will focus on resources

that feature Oklahoma. Examples of what you will know how to do after taking this workshop: • Find and view photos and plans of historic buildings in Oklahoma

• Listen to historic music recordings made during the Dust Bowl

• View photographs made during the Civil War

• Look at baseball cards from the early 1900’s

• Listen to recordings of speeches made during World War I

• Look at railroad maps from the early days of Oklahoma

NOTE: About one-third of this workshop is “show-and-tell.” You can have me show you

materials from any two of the following American Memory collections. Otherwise I will

focus on the topic of Oklahoma in American Memory.

• African Americans in American Memory (includes the papers of Frederick Douglas, interviews of former slaves, the black church in the south)

• Federal government information in American Memory (includes Presidential Papers, Continental Congress documents, historic Congressional documents & debates, Presidential inauguration speeches)

• Hispanics in American Memory (includes several collections of Hispanic music, U.S.-Mexico border maps, narratives of travel in the southwest)

• Literature and drama in American Memory (includes 19th century books and magazines, New Deal theater plays, plays of Zora Neale Hurston)

• Maps in American Memory (includes Civil War maps, railroad maps, panoramic maps, World War II maps, historic maps of national parks)

• Native Americans in American Memory (includes Edward Curtis’ 20-volume North American Indian set, historic photographs)

• Music in American Memory (includes Woody Guthrie, historic sheet music, folk music, historic African American music, Civil War band music)

• New Deal Agencies in American Memory (includes Works Progress Administration, Federal Writers’ Project, Federal Theatre Project, others)

• Women’s History in American Memory (includes several collections about women’s right to vote, life histories of individual women)


INTRODUCTION TO DATA FROM THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATIONAL STATISTICS (NCES)

This workshop will teach you how to access educational data from the National Center for Educational Statistics.

We will examine their major surveys of elementary, secondary, postsecondary, and vocational education data, data

about libraries, data about adult literacy, tools for finding educational facilities, and four major NCES databases. We

will focus on data that features Oklahoma. Examples of what you will know how to do after taking this workshop:

• Search for schools, colleges, and libraries within a 50-mile radius of your zip code

• Review Oklahoma’s progress in teaching math and science

• Get social and economic data for your school district

• Compare colleges in Oklahoma with each other

• Look at enrollment data for Oklahoma’s private schools

• Review data about parents who read to their children

Recommended audience: academic libraries, large public libraries

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INTRODUCTION TO DATA FROM THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR HEALTH STATISTICS (NCHS)

This workshop will teach you how to access health data from the National Center for Health Statistics. We will

examine their 14 major surveys, including the National Vital Statistics System, their "Initiatives" program databases,

and their Tabulated State Data databases. We will focus on data that features Oklahoma. Examples of what you will

know how to do after taking this workshop:

• Find birth and death data for Oklahoma

• Review data about the health of our children in our state

• Find the number of office visits made to specific types of physicians, such as ophthalmologists

• Find data for nursing homes and hospices

• Review data on health insurance trends, including those who have no insurance coverage

• Find data on early childhood health

Recommended audience: hospital and other healthcare libraries, academic libraries that serve universities and colleges with nursing program, large public libraries.

�MINI-WORKSHOPS ― each is 2 hours long Recommended audience for all 4 mini-workshops: all types of libraries

NATIONAL VITAL STATISTICS SYSTEM (NVSS) Data on births, deaths, marriages, divorces, cohabitation, and fetal deaths. Examples of what you will know how to do after

taking this workshop:

• Find data about births and deaths in each state

• Find data on the leading causes of death

DATA ABOUT CHILDREN FROM THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR HEALTH STATISTICS (NCHS) AND THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION STATISTICS (NCES)

Data on children’s health, children with special health care needs, early childhood health, children’s early school

experiences, the home learning environment of children, and their before and after school care.

Examples of what you will know how to do after taking this workshop:

• Find data on children with such special needs as speech therapy

• Regional differences in kindergarten enrollment and attendance

GEODATA.GOV AND OTHER FEDERAL AND OKLAHOMA INTERNET GIS SOURCES

Internet GIS and mapping resources from federal and State of Oklahoma agencies. Examples of what

you will know how to do after taking this workshop:

• View drought maps and West Nile Virus incidence maps for Oklahoma

• View a map showing the spread of zebra mussels into Oklahoma

CDC WONDER: ONE STOP-SHOP FOR HEALTH STATISTICS FROM THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION

CDC’s “main hookup” to health data from their various centers and offices. CDC Wonder lets you query databases from the

statistical divisions of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services with variables that you select, including race, sex,

geography, time period, and other variables. Examples of what you will know how to do after taking this workshop:

• View a map of fire and burn-related deaths by Oklahoma counties

• View of chart of school students in Oklahoma who smoked more than 10 cigarettes per day within any 30-day period

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NOTE ON MULTIPLE WORKSHOPS: In one location, up to eight (8) hours of workshops during any one day.

COST TO YOU: Free statewide as a service from the Oklahoma Department of Libraries.

INSTRUCTOR: Steve Beleu, Regional Depository Librarian (training qualifications listed at the end of this

message)

WHAT I NEED FROM YOUR LIBRARY: These are hands-on workshops, therefore you need to provide—

OPTIMAL WORKSHOP REQUIREMENTS

• A training lab in your library, or somewhere in your community or on your campus, in which each attendee will have his/her own computer.

• I will need a computer and a way to project my computer screen onto a big screen.

• You should have a computer technical person available during the workshops.

• The National Center for Health Statistics workshop will require that you install some special software on your computers at least for the duration of the workshop.

• The American Memory workshop may require you to install some special media viewers on your computers for at least the duration of the workshop.

MINIMAL WORKSHOP REQUIREMENTS • You must have a computer for each attendee. You don’t need to have a training lab, computer technical person, or

an instructor’s computer.

• NOTE: I’ve given several successful workshops in libraries that could meet only these minimal requirements. Not having a dedicated Internet lab in your library doesn’t mean that we can’t have a good workshop there.

HOW I DEVELOPED THESE WORKSHOPS: I work with one employee in each federal agency to make sure that I

am teaching what the agencies want you to know about their data, products, and services. I report attendance to my

agency contacts, and continually consult with them.

SCHEDULING OF THESE WORKSHOPS: They’re first-come, first-serve. I will

normally schedule only two workshops per month from September through May,

with none scheduled during June, July, or August.

OPTIONS: As the host library you will make the decision whether I present these

workshops just for your library staff or for the general public and organizations in

your community. You may market them in such terms as these (fictional examples)—

• “Southeastern State University and the Oklahoma Department of Libraries Present a Workshop about American Memory"

• “The Lawton Public Library and the Oklahoma Department of Libraries Present a Community-Wide Workshop about the 2000 Census”

As the host you have a free hand in how you publicize these workshops. But they must be free to all attendees.

CE CREDITS: Participation in each workshop will earn library attendees ODL CE credits. We do not offer other

types of CE credits.

CONTACT: IF YOU ARE READY TO SCHEDULE ANY OF THESE WORKSHOPS OR IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS

ABOUT THEM, CONTACT ME AT 800-522-8116, LOCALLY AT 521-2502, OR E-MAIL ME AT

[email protected] . Steve Beleu, Regional Depository Librarian, Oklahoma Department of Libraries, U.S.

Government Information Division.

Trainer qualifications: for NCES, I became a Fellow of the NCES in 2002 and received 40 hours of

training at NCES in Washington, D.C.; for American Memory, we became a testsite library for the

American Memory Program in 1992 and I received 40 hours of training at the American Memory

office of the Library of Congress; for Census, we have been the "Coordinating Agency" of the

Oklahoma Census Data Center for the Census Bureau since 1979 and have attended and given

many Census workshops since then; for the National Center for Health Statistics, I received 60

hours of NCHS training/instruction in 2004 and 2006. Revised October 30, 2006

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Oklahoma Library Association

Legislative Liaison Report

By Oliver Delaney

U nder the ever watchful eye of OLA’s President Jeanie Johnson and her theme “Just So You Know,” her long range plan for the year identified ten key issues facing the association. The first of these issues was the

process of coping with the Oklahoma Legislature and issues of censorship and reduced funding. It became a legislative year fraught with numerous challenges for the library community. For public libraries legislative proposals were introduced to restrict the location of so called “questionable materials” (HB 2158 and SB1777). For school libraries two introduced proposals (HB 2100 and SB 1626) would have reduced their funding drastically under the “65% Solution.” And finally, taxes (as in property taxes) and the Reimbursement Fund were major issues. There were more than sixteen proposals to radically alter the ad valorem /property tax structure in this state. None survived.

While we pay sales tax on groceries, clothing and our prescriptions, sales taxes on the purchase of tickets to the Hornets professional basketball games in Oklahoma City were eliminated under legislation (SB 1022) signed by the Governor in the early stages of the legislative session. To lure the Hornets from New Orleans state and local officials provided a multimillion dollar ($10M) incentive package.

CENSORSHIP

The most contentious issue of 2006 was a continuation of State Representative Sally Kern’s effort in 2005 to place certain restrictions on some materials in her local library in Oklahoma City. In 2006 she carried her program to the state level with HB 2158 and its companion piece of legislation by Senator Cliff Aldridge in the Senate (SB 1777). Representative Kern was not receptive to how local public libraries (under local boards of directors) handle complaints about questionable materials. Public libraries have policies in place where a visitor can appeal to the library to remove a book. HB 2158 by Representative Kern was a proposal to force public libraries across the state to segregate books with homosexual or sexually explicit materials or risk the loss of any state funds. The bill required the Department of Libraries (DOL) to withhold state funding if a public library did not comply with the new regulation.

The legislation was very subjective and would cost libraries, especially those in rural areas with limited staff, money and time. Preliminary estimates indicated HB 2158 would cost $826,000 to renovate small public libraries to create special areas for materials. Kern stated she wanted a special shelving area and a policy to shield children from language and behaviors they are not mature enough to understand.

The problem is this: where to begin and how does one determine what will be included under the concept of “questionable materials”—books with a single line or two, a word or two, or a whole section of a book? Are there now in the current Statutes of Oklahoma (law) existing provisions dealing with “questionable materials” as they relate to children?

SB 1777 did not receive a hearing in the Senate, nor did HB 2158 which passed the State House of Representatives. It is now dead for the present.

The 65% Solution

If attempts at censorship were not enough to make for a challenging legislative session, an entirely new issue presented itself in 2006—the “65% Solution”—which advocates say would require that 65 percent of education dollars must be spent directly in the school classroom. Bob Sullivan, in his campaign for Governor, made this one issue the center of his campaign throughout the state. It was introduced this year in the legislature as a proposal by State Representative Kenneth Miller (HB 2100) and State Senator Nancy Riley (SB 1626).

This is a nationally charged program where advocates contend that too much money is being spent on school administration and not enough on the classroom. Under a “65% law”—as in HB 2100 and SB 1626—sixty-five percent of all the school’s finances are earmarked. The problem comes from a

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difference in the calculation of what is classroom instruction – does it include counselors, computer labs, librarians, nurses, speech pathologists? No. These are generally excluded as they are considered part of administrative costs.

There is much more to this issue. For example, the criteria for what constitutes classroom instruction includes football and sports uniforms, but unbelievably, it does not (in Oklahoma) include school libraries and librarians. The proposal sounds good as a sound bite just like the so called “Taxpayers Bill of Rights” (TABOR) did at the time. Both proposals are appealing so long as one does not look into the details. Passing the “65% Solution” would not only undermine local control of education but also it would de-fund most of our school libraries. While it appears constructive, it would, in fact, weaken many important elements of a first-class education. Neither legislative proposal (HB 2100 or SB 1626) received a hearing in their respective committees and are dead for the present. Bob Sullivan was beaten in his campaign for Governor.

Taxes

In 2005, State Representative Lance Cargill conducted a study between the legislative sessions (Interim Study 2005-54) for the purpose of examining the establishment of a dedicated source of funding for the state Ad Valorem Reimbursement Fund. A few meetings were conducted by the House Revenue and Taxation Committee but nothing came forward. It was left to State Senator Jeff Rabon to propose SB 1774, which would pay millions of dollars to Oklahoma counties owed to them because of past obligations. His bill would have increased the amount of tax earmarked to the fund from 1 percent to 2.3 percent, which would have allowed the fund to fully reimburse all claims against it.

The Ad Valorem Reimbursement Fund was created to reimburse Oklahoma counties for any loss of property tax revenue due to property tax exemptions created by the legislature in the 1980’s in an effort to boost the economy after the oil bust. Over the years other exemptions were added. The problem occurred when revenue earmarked for the fund failed to increase at the same rate as the claims for reimbursement leaving the fund with few dollars at the county level for libraries, schools, hospitals, etc.

It (SB 1774) would have made a huge difference to assist the counties to fund critical services. The bill passed the State Senate, but was killed by the House Rules Committee.

Other issues

Two additional areas of interest to OLA’s legislative effort in 2006 were proposals to make changes to “Oklahoma’s Telecommunications Act” (seven of these) and how any proposal might have an impact on the Universal Service Fund (nothing happened). Another legislative proposal of concern was a bill by State Representative Mike Mass that would have directed the Department of Libraries to develop and implement an Oklahoma Universal Library Card system. This card would have enabled holders to have access to the computers and computer services offered by any public library, library system or special library in the state (HB 2106). This proposal was not heard in committee and is dead.

The interim between legislative sessions to February 2007 is the time for OLA to get information and ideas in place. Legislative bill filing for the 2007 session will occur in mid-December. We need to be ready with a positive attitude and action. We need to emphasize the economic benefits, the value and the importance of libraries to everyone. We need to recognize there are those who hold a different view of the important role libraries play in the lives of our citizens.

The issues of interest to both OLA and FOLIO this past session point to the necessity for diligent work and the importance of keeping focused on the needs and challenges of libraries in Oklahoma. Being on the offense rather than defense has a great advantage. Next session we need to be in a positive position to present our needs rather than struggling to justify our actions.

And we are getting to that place. The reports from regional meetings this year demonstrate that more librarians have an awareness of legislative issues that affect libraries than in the past, and they are more willing to visit with their elected officials on the state and local level. Librarians also grasp the importance of building long-term relationships with their State Senator and State Representative and the need for Oklahoma libraries to speak with one voice on all library issues—public, academic, school and special issues alike.

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Author/Illustrator Lisa Campbell Ernst

Celebrated Children’s Book Week

With Tulsa City-County Library

TULSA, Okla. --- Nearly 300 children and their parents celebrated National Children’s Book Week with author and illustrator Lisa Campbell Ernst at Tulsa City-County Library’s Books to Treasure, held Nov. 17 at the Hardesty Regional Library.

Funded by the Anne and Henry Zarrow Foundation, Books to Treasure is an annual event promoting the beauty of children’s literature and introducing the community to popular book illustrators. The goal of Books to Treasure is to sign up every second-grader in Tulsa County for a library card. Each second-grader who signed up for a library card this fall received a customized card with an illustration from Ernst’s Hannah Mae O’Hannigan’s Wild West Show.

In conjunction with Books to Treasure, Tulsa City-County Library gave out more than 10,200 paperback copies of Hannah Mae O’Hannigan’s Wild West Show to second-graders at all public and private schools in Tulsa County.

For more information about Books to Treasure, call Lana Voss, chairwoman of the Books to Treasure Planning Committee, at (918) 596-7971 or click on http://kids.tulsalibrary.org/services/.

“We are all natural born storytellers. When we are very young playing pretend, we are telling stories. As we get older, sometimes we f o r g e t h o w wonderful that can be,” said Lisa Campbell Ernst at Tulsa City-County Library’s fourth annual Books to Treasure event c e l e b r a t i n g Children’s Book Week.

CELEBRATE THE

HISTORY OF YOUR

LIBRARY

Jan Bryant, Centennial Ad Hoc Committee

The Centennial Ad Hoc Committee wants to encourage every library in Oklahoma—school, university, public and special—to celebrate their history in art and in writing. We think it will be great fun for all libraries to create a collage for their library depicting the history of the library, some special event, a special service, a department or your Friends group. We also would like for all libraries to submit a short history to the “Focus on Libraries” project.

The Centennial Collage Project would include creating a collage on foam board then bringing it to the OLA Conference in April 2007. The collage can be constructed on standard foam board that is between 20”X30” and 32”X 40”. It can be comprised of pictures, newspaper articles, fliers, 3-D materials, etc. then coated with “Mod-Podge” to seal it. It needs to have a 3”X5” card attached on the back stating the name of the collage, the name of the library and a contact person with address, phone number and e-mail address. In order to make arrangements for display at conference please notify Jan Bryant by January 9, 2007 of your intent to bring a collage. Also let her know if you will be bringing a display easel. You can notify her by letter or e-mail. (Jan Bryant, Muskogee Public Library, 801 W. Okmulgee, Muskogee, OK 74401; [email protected])

There is a special flyer included which will give more details on the collage project. The picture and instructions are used with permission of Hideaway Pizza who has a wonderful Centennial Collage Project. You can go to the Hideaway Pizza Collage Project web site www.collage2000.com to see other samples of collages which have been done as a part of their Centennial Collage Project.

For the “Focus on Libraries” Project write a brief history of your library and e-mail it to Tanya Finchum at [email protected] The histories are posted on the OLA web site “Focus on Libraries”. We want histories from all libraries in Oklahoma so please take the time to write your library’s history and share it. This is an excellent way to preserve this valuable information for the future.

So come on all you creative library people and let’s celebrate both Oklahoma’s Centennial and OLA’s in art and word.

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Oklahoma Library Association Endowment Fund

IIII n the spirit of the holiday season… As we approach the end of the year some of us are considering charitable contributions. I urge you to consider giving to the Oklahoma Library Association Endowment. Doing so will help insure that our organization can support the programs we have provided for the last 100 years well into this millennium. To give, go to the website at http://www.oklibs.org/~olacampaign/gifts.htm. Librarians know better than anyone what a difference we can make. While you are there, take a look at the donor’s list, you will be in good company. Another worthy charity is ALA’s “Adopt-a-Library” program. This program will continue to help libraries in the gulf region that are still trying to recover from the lingering effects of hurricane damage. I recently received a note from Keith Michael Fiels, ALA Executive Director, in which he asks librarians to continue to support these recovery efforts, as the need is still great. The ALA website, www.ala.org, can provide details about this program. Although there are many worthy charities worldwide, I hope you will consider these two library-related opportunities this season. I believe that librarians make a difference everyday in the lives of many people, as did Andrew Carnegie, “There is not such a cradle of democracy upon the earth as the Free Public Library, this republic of letters, where neither rank, office, nor wealth receives the slightest consideration." If you agree, consider a contribution that will strengthen our profession and our libraries. If we don’t believe these are worthy endeavors, who will?

Thank you, Pat Weaver-Meyers

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Oklahoma Library Association 300 Hardy Drive Edmond, OK 73013

Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage Paid

Edmond, OK 73034 Permit No. 61

CONFERENCES and WORKSHOPS This list shows all currently planned workshops and other opportunities for continuing education sponsored by the Oklahoma Library Association. For more information please contact Executive Director Kay Boies at [email protected]. “Grass Roots Power: Influencing Decision Makers" Sponsored by the Legislative Committee, FOLIO and GODORT Tuesday, January 9, 2007 from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Moore Public Library Registration Deadline: December 22, 2006 For more information, download the registration brochure (pdf) at http://www.oklibs.org/workshops/grassrootsflyer.pdf Booktalking: From So-So to Sensational! Sponsored by PLD, OASLMS, and CATS Thursday, February 22, 2007 Midwest City Library, 8143 E. Reno Ave., Midwest City, OK For more information, download the flyer (pdf) at http://www.oklibs.org/workshops/Langemack_Flyer.pdf Call for Papers! Submit your proposal for the University & College Division Papers and Practical Applications session at OLA 2007 using the online submission form at http://www.oklibs.org/papers/index.html. The UCD website has more information at http://www.oklibs.org/~academic/

oklahoma librarian

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